Haul-off and coiling device



Nov. 12, 1963 H. BURR ETAL 3,110,452

HAUL-OFF AND COILING DEVICE Filed Feb. 5. 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor y g M 7 I Attorney Nov. 12, 1963 H. BURR ETAL HAUL-OFF AND COILING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 5, 1960 Inventor 7T My /7&%/] zttorne y Nov. 12, 1963 H. BURR ETAL HAUL-0FF AND comm; DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 5. 1960 ventor f Attorney H. BURR ETAL HAUL-OFF AND COILING DEVICE Nov. 12, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 5. 1960 United States Patent Ofifice 3,110,452 Patented Nov. 12, 1963 3,110,452 HAUL-()FF AND CGILING DEViCE Harvey Burr, Hastings on Hudson, N .Y., and Brian John Wardley, Liverpool, England, assignors to British Insulated Callenders Cables Limited, London, England, a British company Filed Feb. 5, 1960, Ser. No. 6,896 Claims priority, application Great Britain Feb. 24, 1959 3 Claims. (Cl. 242-82) This invention relates to haul-off and coiling devices for bare or covered wire and especially to devices for accepting wire from a processing apparatus and advancing it towards a receiver on or in which the Wire is collected in coil form. Where the receiver is a drum on which the wire is wound in a succession of multi-turn layers the necessary bending of the wire is effected by applying a rotary drive to the drum and maintaining tension in the wire between the drum and the haul-off device. Where the receiver is a pallet or is a cylindrical walled container (which may or may not be of annular crosssection) it is in some cases desirable to form the wire into loops before it is deposited on the pallet or in the container. Hitherto this has necessitated interposing a loop-forming device between the wire-advancing means and the receiver. By the present invention we provide a novel form of haul-off device which also functions as a loop-forming device from which the wire is deposited in coil form on a pallet or in a container.

The haul-off device in accordance with our invention comprises a stationary ring wall whose internal surface forms an endless track, a wire driving roller which under operating conditions is driven along the track, and means for leading Wire substantially axially towards the centre of the track and then towards and on to that part of the peripheral surface of the roller that is approaching the track. In this way as the roller rolls along its track it mementarily traps between it and the track successive elemental lengths of wire, thus drawing through the device with each complete circuit made by the roller a length of wire corresponding to the length of the circuit, at the same time imparting a curvature to the wire. The wire may pass directly outwards from the axis of the track on to the roller or may be guided in an indirect path, e.g. a curved path, such that its approach to the roller is not radial with respect to the axis of the track. Where the axis of the track is vertical or approximately so, as the wire to the rear of the travelling roller is released it falls away from the track as an open helix to be collected on a support in the form of a series of superposed coils. Where the axis of the track is horizontal or approximately so, the open helix of released wire may be guided from a substantially horizontally extending direction into a substantially vertical direction and then on to a support.

We prefer to mount on the delivery side of the travelling roller a tubular guide, through which the wire passes as it is released, for the purposes of deflecting the released wire towards the support on which it is collected and preventing the wire from gradually leaving its path and escaping laterally from between the travelling roller and its track. In general a short tube, preferably bellrnouthed at each end, will suirice but for fine wire having a diameter of 0.036 inch or less we prefer to use a longer tube of which a length adjacent the travelling roller is curved in a reverse sense to the peripheral surface of the roller for the purpose of reducing the tendency of the wire to assume the curvature of the periphery of the roller rather than that of the track on which the roller runs. The part of the guide tube of reversed curvature preferably extends over an arc of 60 to 80, the whole or a part of the remainder of the tube remote from the pulley being curved in a downward direction so that the wire issues at an angle of about 30 to the plane of rotation of the tubemouth as it trails the travelling pulley. It is not essential that the part of the tube immediately adjacent the rollerv should have this reversed curvature.

Where our novel form of haul-01f device is used to feed wire in coil form into a cylindrical container we may, in accordance with a further feature of our invention, arrange to locate the container with its axis laterally displaced with respect to the axis of rotation of the fiyer of the haul-off device and to rotate the container about its axis at a speed that is low compared with the flyer speed. This results in each deposited coil being laterally displaced relative to the last of the previously deposited coils, the deposited coils forming a lattice pattern which permits of the wire bein subsequently drawn off out of the container without snagging. For example, where a take-01f speed of 3,000 ft./min. is required we may use a circular track of 1 ft. 6 in. diameter; a flyer speed of 635 r.p.m., and place the container on a turntable rotating at about 15 rpm. The axis of rotation of the fiyer is however not necessarily displaced from the axis of the annular container.

Apparatus for coiling wire incorporating a haul-off device in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is an elevation of the apparatus with one main side plate removed,

FIGURE 2 is a plan of the apparatus,

FIGURE 3 is a view from underneath, from the plane III- 1H in FIGURE 1, of the haul-off device.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section of the haul-off device on line IVIV in FIGURE 3,

FIGURE 5 is an elevation of the haul-off device looking in the direction of the arrow V in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 6 is an elevation of a modified form of part of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 3, and

FIGURE 7 is a view from underneath in the direction of the arrow VII in FIGURE 6.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2 the apparatus is built on a base 1 and supported by two side plates 2 only one of which is shown in FIGURE 1. The path of the wire is shown dotted and consecutive parts are marked A, B, C and D; the wire approaches the apparatus at A.

and passes backwards and forwards (B) anound two sets of pulleys I3 and 4, the set '3 being arranged to move towards'and away from the set 4 in accordance with the tension in the wire by an arrangement that will be described in detail later. The wire then passes vertically downwards in the path C through the haul-'oif device 5 and from the haul-off device falls as an open helix D into an annular container 6.

The haul-off device will now be described in detail with reference to FIGURES 3, 4 and 5. It is secured to the under surface of a fiat horizontal table '7 mounted between the plates 2 and comprises two main parts: an outer cylindrical part 8 which carries near its lower edge a cylindrical endless track 9 and an inner inverted cupshaped part 12 which forms the flyer and is carried on a vertical hollow shaft it) free to rotate in a bearing 11.

A flange 13 on the inner cup-shaped part 12 carries a downwardly extending guide 14- and the flange 13 and a Huge on the upper part of the guide 14 together form a platform on which the track roller 15 and a spare track roller 16 are mounted, the spare roller 16 acting as a counterweight. The rollers 15' and 16 have hard rubber rims. Freely mounted in bearings carried by webs 1'7 and 18 projecting from the inner surface of the cup-shaped From the track roller the wire passes through a tubular guide 21 carried in a bracket 22 mounted on the flange of the guide 14, from where it can fall away as at D around the guide 14 into the annular container 6 (FIGURE '1). As seen in FIGURE 3 a short length of the tubular guide 21 immediately adjacent the roller I5 is curved in the same sense as the peripheral surface of the roller but a longer length of the tubular guide (forming an arc subtending about 60) is curved in a reverse sense to this surface, whereby any tendency of the wire to be permanently set in the curvature of the roller rather than in the curvature of the track 9 is reduced. The remainder of the tube is curved in a downward direction (see FIGURES 1 and 4).

Referring again to FIGURES l and 2 the fiyer 12 is driven by a belt 23 which engages with a pulley 24 carried on the upper end of the hollow shaft It and a pulley 25 carried on the upper end of a vertical shaft 2s. The shaft 26 is driven by an electric motor 277 through an infinitely variable gear 28, a belt 29 and a right angle drive 30. The variable speed gear is controlled in the following way. The dancer pulleys '3 are carried on a support 31 which can move backwards and forwards along a track 32 and are urged away from the fixed pulleys by a weight 33 coupled by a chain 34 passing over a sprocket 35 to the support 31. The shaft carrying the sprocket 35 is coupled by a chain 36 to sprocket 37 mounted on a horizontal shaft 38. The shaft 33 is coupled by a chain drive 59 tothe speed control 49 of the variable speed gear 23.

The arrangement is such that an increase in tension in the wire draws the dancer pulleys 3 towards the fixed pulleys 4 and raises the weight 3%, thus moving the control of the variable speed gear 23 in such a way that the speed of the haul-off device is reduced. A decrease in tension in the wire will have the opposite effect.

The motor 27 also rotates a table at on which the annular container 6 stands, the axis about which the table rotates being slightly displaced from the axis of the haul-off device 5. The drive for the table 41 is coupled by a belt 42 to the horizontal driving shaft of the right angle gear 3% through a magnetic coupling 43 by which the drive to the table 41 can be disconnected as desired, while the haul-01f device is still operating, to enable full containers to be removed and replaced by empty containers. The container is rotated about its axis at a speed that is low compared with the flyer speed. The results in each deposited coil being laterally displaced relative to the last of the preivously deposited coils, the deposited coils forming a lattice pattern which permits the wire being subsequently drawn off out of the container without snagging.

While the containers are being changed, the Wire being delivered from the guide tube 21 is allowed to accumulate on a temporary support comprising a platform 44 supported on brackets 45 and 46. The platform 44 can be drawn into position beneath the haul-off device 5 for this purpose by means of pneumatic cylinders 47 (FIGURE 5).

Referring to FIGURE 5, the brackets 45 and 45 carry at their upper ends rollers 48 which run on horizontal guides 49 and 50' supported beneath the platform '7. In FIGURE 1 the platform 44 is shown partly withdrawn. When it is fully withdrawn, that is further towards the left in FIGURE *1, its right hand end is clear of the container 6. The platform is centrally slotted to avoid contact with the vertical shaft 26. As the platform is being withdrawn the coils of Wire which have accumulated on its are swept into the container 6 by a vertical stop 51 carried on a bracket 52 pivoted to the outer cylindrical part 3 of the haul-off device. Projecting from the bracket 52 are two horizontal arms 53 and 54 bent over at their ends to form vertical fingers 55 and 56. When the platform 44 has been partially withdrawn, to the position shown in FIG URE 1, two horizontal pins 57 and 58 mounted on the brackets -45 and 46 by which the platform is supported make contact with the fingers 55 and 56 and rotate the bracket 52 about its pivotal mounting against biasing springs 59* and oil until the stop 51 adopts a horizontal position. During the filling of the container the stop 51'. is maintained in this position by contact between the pins 57 and 5S and the fingers 55 and 56. When the platform is again drawn into its operative position beneath the haul-off device, the stop 51 will again adopt its vertical position under the action of the springs 59 and 60 as the fingers 55 and 56 are released by the pins 57 and 58.

An alternative form of temporary support is shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. It consists of a number of fingers 61 mounted on the lower ends of spindles 62. which pass through a circular bracket 63 attached to the cylindrical part 8 of the haul-off device by four uprights 6 1. Attached to the upper end of each of the spindles 62 is a sprocket 65 and a continuous chain 66 passes around all of these sprockets. One of the spindles 62 carries on its upper end a hand lever 67 by which the fingers 61 can be moved from the position shown in FIGURES 6 and 7 to the position shown dotted in FIGURE 7. To limit the movement of the fingers 51 between these two posi tions two pairs of stops are provided comprising pins 69 and 7t) projecting from the hubs of two of the sprockets 65 and pins 7 1 and 72 projecting from the upper surface of the circular bracket 63.

Referring to FIGURE 3 it will be seen that the fiyer rotates in a clockwise direction (viewed from below) and hence the wire will issue from the tubular guide 21 in an anti-clockwise direction, relative to the fiyer although in fact the wire will have no component of longitudinal movement in a horizontal plane relative to the fixed cylindrical part 8. Referring again to FIGURE'7 it will be seen that as the fingers 61 pass from the inoperative position to the operative position (pointing radially inwards) they will pass through a position in which they are tangential to the wire as it would appear in FIGURE 7 and when in this position the fingers point in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the wire relative to the tubular guide 2.1. This ensures that the "one of the fingers 6 which makes contact with the wire as the fingers move into their operative position will strike the lower surface of the wire. Where the apparatus is required to take up and coil an enamelled wire issuing from an enamelling machine, the variable speed gear 28 may be driven by the same motor as the driven pulleys of the enamel ling machine and the gear manually adjusted initially to bring the wire speed of the enamelling machine into agreement with the speed at which the ename-lled wire is drawn through the hollow shaft 10 of the haul-off device.

What we claim as our invention is:

l. A wire hau l-oif and coiling device comprising a stationary ring wall whose internal surface forms an endless track, a wire gripping roller, means for driving the roller along the track, said roller having a peripheral surface such that a wire being coiled is gripped between the roller and the track as the roller moves around the track, means for leading wire substantially axially towards the center of the track and on to portions of said peripheral surface of the roller which approach the track as the roller moves around the track, the wire passing between the track and the roller and successive elemental lengths of the wire being gripped momentarily between them whereby the wire is pulled through the device as the roller moves around the track, and, on the delivery side of the roller, a tubular guide which deflects the wire away from the haul-01f device and prevents the wire from escaping laterally from between the roller and track, a length of the tubular guide adjacent the roller being curved in a reverse sense to the peripehral surface of the roller, whereby the -tendency of the wire to assume the curvature of the periphery of the roller is reduced.

2. A wire haul-off and coiling device comprising a stationary ring wall whose internal surface is cylindrical and forms a circular endless track, a circular wire gripping roller, a flyer carrying said roller, means for rotating the fiyer about the axis of the track to drive the roller along the track, said roller having a peripheral surface such that a wire being coiled is gripped between the roller and the track as the roller moves around the track, and means for leading wire substantially axially towards the center of the track and on to portions of said peripheral surface of the roller which approach the track as the roller moves around the track comprising a pulley around which the axially travelling wire passes and by which it is deflected towards the periphery of the roller, the pulley being so mounted on the flyer that the axis of the track is tangential to its efiective periphery and the peripheries of the roller and pulley have a common tangent, the wire passing between the track and the roller and successive elemental lengths of the wire being gripped momentarily between them and whereby the wire is pulled through the device as the roller moves around the track.

3. A wire haul-off and coiling device comprising a stationary ring wall whose internal surface forms an endless track, a wire gripping roller, means for driving the roller along the track, said roller having a peripheral surface such that a wire being coiled is gripped between the roller and the track as the roller moves around the track, means for leading wire substantially axially towards the center of the track and on to portions of said peripheral surface of the roller which approach the track as the roller moves around the track, the wire passing between the track and the roller and successive elemental lengths of the wire being gripped momentarily between them whereby the wire is pulled through the device as the roller moves around the track, and ejected in the form of an open helix, and means for temporarily supporting the coils of wire issuing from the device comprising a number of fingens, which project substantially radially towards the axis of the haul-off de vice in a plane parallel to and a short distance below the plane of the lower edge of the horizontal track, means for pivotally supporting said fingers at their outer ends about vertical axes and means for rotating the fingers simultaneously from this position into a position in which they do not prevent the coils from (falling freely downwards from the haul-off device.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,023,736 Ll oyld Dec. 10, 1935 2,157,811 Beach May 9, 1939 2,739,762 Cohn et a1. Mar. 27, 1956 2,849,195 Richardson et a1 Aug. 26, 1958 2,886,258 Haugwitz May 12, 1959 2,929,493 Hennirlg Mar. 22, 1960 

1. A WIRE HAUL-OFF AND COILING DEVICE COMPRISING A STATIONARY RING WALL WHOSE INTERNAL SURFACE FORMS AN ENDLESS TRACK, A WIRE GRIPPING ROLLER, MEANS FOR DRIVING THE ROLLER ALONG THE TRACK, SAID ROLLER HAVING A PERIPHERAL SURFACE SUCH THAT A WIRE BEING COILED IS GRIPPED BETWEEN THE ROLLER AND THE TRACK AS THE ROLLER MOVES AROUND THE TRACK, MEANS FOR LEADING WIRE SUBSTANTIALLY AXIALLY TOWARDS THE CENTER OF THE TRACK AND ON TO PORTIONS OF SAID PERIPHERAL SURFACE OF THE ROLLER WHICH APPROACH THE TRACK AS THE ROLLER MOVES AROUND THE TRACK, THE WIRE PASSING BETWEEN THE TRACK AND THE ROLLER AND SUCCESSIVE ELEMENTAL LENGTHS OF THE WIRE BEING GRIPPED MOMENTARILY BETWEEN THEM WHEREBY THE WIRE IS PULLED THROUGH THE DEVICE AS THE ROLLER MOVES AROUND THE TRACK, AND, ON THE DELIVERY SIDE OF THE ROLLER, A TUBULAR GUIDE WHICH DEFLECTS THE WIRE AWAY FROM THE HAUL-OFF DEVICE AND PREVENTS THE WIRE FROM ESCAPING LATERALLY FROM BETWEEN THE ROLLER AND TRACK, A LENGTH OF THE TUBULAR GUIDE ADJACENT THE ROLLER BEING CURVED IN A REVERSE SENSE TO THE PERIPHERAL SURFACE OF THE ROLLER, WHEREBY THE TENDENCY OF THE WIRE TO ASSUME THE CURVATURE OF THE PERIPHERY OF THE ROLLER IS REDUCED. 